Chaotic Waters Act 1, Chapter 14: Mist and Okonomiyaki.
"You have to remember who I used to be."
Michiru frowned. "What does who you are have to do with anything?"
"Not who I am, who I used to be, specifically to you." The child corrected, her tone once more becoming mature like that of an adult. "You and I used to know each other very well and those memories and others make up this place. Without them, you won't be able to find anyone or anything except for me."
"Couldn't you just tell me?"
"If I could do that I would." The girl replied, somehow giving the impression through the mist that she had crossed her arms in annoyance. "ButI'mnot really here, the me before you is a manifestation of your own subconscious."
"...what?"
"Uugghhh! I'm telling you that I can't tell you what you don't know! Even if you don't remember everything, a part of you must remembersomething, otherwise this place would just be a white void of nothingness!"
"Wait...is that why everything is all foggy?" Michiru asked, looking around.
"It's mist, not fog...well okay I guess it is a fog, but only technically!" The girl's voice seemed...flustered, like calling the fog around them anything but a mist was somehow improper. "For politeness, we'll just keep calling it a mist, okay?"
"Why would calling it a fog not be...never mind, I don't want to know."
"Don't say that!" The girl snapped. "That right there is why this place looks the way it does! You decided that you didn't want to remember what happened andthis-" She gestured to the landscape around them. "-is the result!"
"So what it's my fault Nerima looks like a bad horror movie?"
"That's not..." The girl in the mist sighed and shook her head. "...you're not completely wrong, but you're not right either. It's complicated and the fact that you don't understand it is making it even more so!"
"Okay...so whatcanyou tell me?"
"Like I said, You have to remember on your own, I can only tell you what you know and I can only even tell you that because somewhere inside that thick skull of yours you understand that everything around you, including me, is a manifestation of your own subconscious!"
"But Ididn'tknow that, not until you told me!"
"Uuuggghhhh yes you di-ok let's try this another way." The girl ground out between clenched teeth. "You know how sometimes you don't remember something until someone else reminds you of it?"
"I guess?"
"Even if you don't remember it, the memory is still there just...hidden in mist so to speak." The girl said wryly, as if amused by her little joke. "Normally, you'd need something to give the memories a jolt, but you've gone and buried them somewhere in this place."
"So I need to dig them up?"
"Pretty much."
"So how do I do that exactly?" Michiru asked, looking around. "I'm guessing I can't just get a shovel and dig in a random spot."
"No, that would be silly. You have to visit your earliest memory and work backwards from there."
"My earliest memory?" She thought back to the hallway she'd been in before, and that strange woman that had thrown her out. What had been the last memory she could recall? It was something memorable to be sure...but she couldn't remember actually seeing what the memory was. She frowned, whatwasthat memory, why had she skipped over that door? Something about how it had...looked...
"That's right." The girl in the mist said, pointing a shrouded finger to the south. "In order for you to remember what you've lost, you have to face your darkest memory. You have to face the Neko-ken."
-Nerima-
"What should I do?"Nodoka wondered as she wandered the streets of Nerima early in the morning, her wrapped katana held firmly in her arms. Truthfully Nerima was the only district she could carry it so openly, the police here were so used to the random acts of mass destruction unleashed by the martial artists that lived here, that a woman carrying a sheathed sword was low on their list of priorities.
What should she do? Where was her son? Where could he have gone? Was he being manly? Did that even matter? These were the thoughts that kept repeating in the red haired woman's head without end.
"Saotome-san?" She heard someone say from behind her. She turned and saw a young girl, around her son's age in a kimono. She looked familiar...oh yes she had seen the girl around one of her son's fiancées, Kuonji-san. That would make this girl...oh dear, what was her name?
"I'm sorry, but could you remind me of your name dear?" She asked, a hint of red forming on her cheeks. Really, she must be getting old if she can't remember a simple name.
"Not at all Saotome-san, my name is Konatsu." The girl said, introducing herself without a family name much to Nodoka's surprise. "Would you like to come in?" The girl, Konatsu apparently, offered kindly. "We're still getting ready, but you're more than welcome."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother."
"It's no bother, really." The younger girl smiled warmly and opened the door, gesturing for Nodoka to come inside.
"...Alright, if you insist." Turning towards the open door, she entered the restaurant, followed shortly by Konatsu. She took a seat at the counter, setting her wrapped Katana in her lap since there was no-one else around. "Is Kuonji-san not comin in today?" She asked, looking around.
"She's having an issue with one of our suppliers, they sent our order to the wrong shop and are refusing to take responsibility for it." With a practiced ease, the kunoichi turned on the grill, glancing at the older woman before looking over the supplies they had prepared.
"I see..."
"Is it about Ranma-san?" The younger girl asked, setting a glass of water in front of Nodoka.
"Well...yes, how did you know?"
"If someone has a problem in Nerima it either involves Ranma-san or it will." Konatsu remarked, lightly pouring some batter on the grill.
"I suppose that does match with what I've seen since coming here." Nodoka murmured, taking a sip of her water. "I'm...concerned about my son" She said after a few moments, staring into her glass. "I think...I think he might have left this place for good, or that he's seriously hurt somewhere."
"What makes you think that?" Noodles, fried vegetables, Shrimp, and an egg were carefully layered on the thin pancake after Konatsu flipped it.
"It's just...ever since we reunited, Ranma has always let me know when he was leaving on a trip, or at least let me know where he was and if he was okay if someone or something had sent him away. But this time..." She trailed off, watching as a drop of condensation slid down her glass. "This time I haven't even received so much as a letter and I have this feeling, like if I don't find him I'll never see him again."
"I see...tell me Saotome-san, what will you do if Ranma-sanhasleft Nerima behind? In all honesty I wouldn't blame them if they have."
"To tell you the truth, I don't know...it certainly isn't manly to run away from your problems." The older woman replied, the kunoichi tensing slightly in response.
"And what does being manly mean to you Saotome-san?" Konatsu asked, setting the fresh okonomiyaki on a plate before adding mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and pickled red ginger setting the food in front of the older woman. "Here."
The older woman blinked in surprise, looking down at the well made dish. "I didn't order anything..."
"Discussions on what to do are always best to have with food." The younger girl said, the ghost of a smile on her face. "My father used to say that all the time back when he was alive."
"Ah...how did you know I liked pickled ginger on my okonomiyaki?" Nodoka asked before taking a bite.
"Ranma-san orders theirs with it all the time and every time they do, Genma wrinkles his nose. I assumed they got their love of it from you."
A warm feeling settled in the older woman's stomach different from the hot bite of food she'd just eaten. Just hearing she shared something with her son, even something as silly as a topping preference made her happy. "You assumed right." She said, taking another bite.
"So, what does being "manly" mean to you?" Konatsu asked again, refilling the older woman's water.
"Well...acting like a man should. Strong, kind, being able to provide for his family, and father children." The woman said, taking another bite. "Despite his curse, my son is still a young man, it's how he was born."
"...but would that make Ranma-san happy?"
Nodoka frowned, not understanding why this girl would ask such a question. "Why wouldn't it? He's a young man, why wouldn't he enjoy living as one?"
"I don't." Konatsu replied simply, sitting on a stool next to the older woman and sipping on a glass of cola.
"Well of course you wouldn't, you're a young woman!"
Konatsu smiled softly and shook her head setting her glass on the counter. "Yes I am, but that is because Ifeellike a woman, what you said would imply that my biology is more important than my happiness."
"I don't...I'm not sure what you're saying Konatsu-san." The older woman admitted, trying and failing to figure out what the teenager was saying.
"It's simple, I was born a boy." Konatsu said, taking another sip of her drink. "However, despite what my body says Ishouldbe, I've never once felt comfortable living as one, even as a child. In fact, my father once told me that, after turning four, I never smiled, not one single time until someone called me his daughter by accident due to my long hair."
The older woman dropped her chopsticks, surprise flashing across her face as she attempted to process what she'd just heard. This girl...had been born a boy? She certainly didn't appear like that was the truth, from the way she held herself to the way she spoke, even the way she dressed all seemed to scream that this was a young woman, not a young man. "How...why would you choose to live as a woman then?!" She exclaimed, looking at the young...person in front of her incredulously.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand Saotome-san." The younger girl replied. "I didn't choose to live as a woman over living as a man, Iama woman because Ifeellike a woman. Nothing more, nothing less."
"But that's-that's not how things are!"
"And who decided that?" Konatsu asked, turning to look Nodoka in the eyes, her own alight with a fierce drive to get this point across to the older woman. "A couple hundred years ago, the world being flat was just "how things are", Pneumonia being incurable was just "how things are", how is this any different?"
"Because...because...it's never happened before!"
"There is proof throughout history that that's not true. Several different cultures around the world have records of people like me dating back thousands of years." Konatsu stated, taking another sip of her drink while maintaining eye contact with the woman who was getting more frazzled by the minute. "Just because something is different, doesn't mean it's wrong or bad."
Those words seemed to spark something in the older woman, as she reached up to touch her hair. It had darkened with age, but it had once been the same fire-engine red as her son's female form, a fact that had cause her to be bullied as a child. She was proud of her hair and always had been, as it was the only thing she had inherited from her own mother, a rather...nontraditional woman from Ireland. Many of the children she had known growing up had told her to dye her hair, but her hair color had always just felt...right, was that the same way this girl felt about her gender? Why would this girl bring up such a topic when they had been talking about...her son? She froze as connections started forming in her mind. This girl...she couldn't be saying that her son was like her, could she? "Why...why bring this up?" She asked, taking a deep gulp of her water, food left forgotten on the table.
"...I think Ranma-san is in the unique position to be able to get a perspective on both genders due to their curse." The kunoichi said, drawing the kanji for her name in the condensation of her glass. "No matter how they feel I will support them, even if I'm currently rather upset with them for something they said to Ukyo-sama. If they decide they wish to live as a man, I will treat them as such, if they decide to live as a woman I will treat them as a woman."
"...It really is that simple for you isn't it?" Nodoka asked, looking at Konatsu in wonder."If I'd had a friend like Konatsu when I was Ranma's age...would I be any different than I am today?"She wondered, thinking back on her life.
"Yes, it is." The kunoichi said softly, looking away from the older woman and finishing her drink. "...tell me Saotome-san, if you were to find Ranma-san, what would you do?"
"I...I don't know." the older woman admitted. "But I think...I think before I make any decision I need to talk with my...child. Find out what it is he wants in life...no matter what that may be, I'll support him."
"In that case-" Konatsu began, standing up from her stool. "-I wish you luck in finding-"
"Juban." Ukyo interrupted from the doorway, looking into the dining area at the two of them, the dark bags underneath her eyes telling anyone who saw them just how little sleep she'd been getting. "You'll find them in Juban."
"Ukyo-sama!" Konatsu exclaimed angrily, slamming her palms down on the counter.
"If you're really going to listen to what they have to say-" The okonomiyaki chef continued, ignoring the kunoichi's outburst. "-than I can tell you that much."
"They know where he is!"Nodoka realized, looking between the clearly exhausted Ukyo and the furious Konatsu."That'swhy Konatsu-san was asking those questions!"
"Ukyo-sama! I know you're angry with Ranma-san, I am too, but that's no reason to-"
"Konatsu." The chef's tone was firm and brokered no argument as she cut off the indignant girl. "If she's willing to listen, then we have to give her a chance." She turned to look at Nodoka, looking her up and down before frowning slightly. "I won't tell you anything but that they're in Juban, but if you do go looking for them I recommend you do something about your look, a red headed woman wearing a kimono while carrying around a katana isn't something that goes unnoticed and Nabiki has friends that shop there often. If you're seen shewillfind out and if that happens, it's game over for Ranma." She crossed her arms, glaring at the stool the cursed girl would always sit at. "I might be pissed at them, but I don't want anything bad to happen to them either."
"I, I see...thank you, I'll keep that in mind." The older woman said, standing up from her seat. She glanced at her food that was left on the counter and went to grab some money for it, only to get waved off by the chef.
"I'll put it on Ranma's tab." The chef stated, walking behind the counter. "Konatsu, turn the sign will you?"
"...yes Ukyo-sama." The girl said with a sigh, giving the chef a dark look for a moment before walking to the door to flip the sign to open.
"I should go...I need to think about some things." Nodoka said softly. "Thank you for the food Konatsu-san, it was quite delicious."
The kunoichi nodded sharply, her annoyance plain to see. Nodoka had just passed her when the young girl spoke coldly, her voice almost a whisper. "Saotome-san. I was raised in a shinobi clan, and as such, know over a hundred different ways to make a death look like an accident. If you hurt Ranma-san..." She trailed off, her threat slithering into the older woman's ears like the hiss of a venomous serpent.
"Konatsu! Threatening people with murder, painless or no, isn't allowed!" The chef called from behind the counter, not bothering to turn around from what she was doing.
"I understand. My so...Ranma is lucky to have a friend like you." The woman replied, desperately trying to hold back a shudder. "Thank you for your hospitality." She gave the young girl a bow before departing, as thoughts of finding her child filled her mind.
-Nerima, Tendo Dojo-
Despite what most people thought about him, Saotome Genma was not an idiot. He knew his worthless son had run from his responsibilities and that he'd used the Hibiki boy to do it. He knew there were those in Nerima other than the lost boy that had helped him escape as well, and that the chef and that Kunoichi girl were the most likely suspects. Akane or Nabiki wouldn't have helped, the amazons were in a panic over Ranma's disappearance so it wasn't them, and there was absolutely no way his son would go to the Kuno's. That only left the two from the okonomiyaki restaurant.
"Now where did you go?" He muttered, looking over a couple dozen maps and newspapers. It would be impossible to track Hibiki, the lost boy's ability to turn a corner and end up halfway across the globe was ridiculous, but his son...his son should be far easier to track."Should be. Something is keeping me from finding even the smallest clue. Surely someone should have seen the boy."It wasn't like pigtailed martial artists who changed gender at a splash of water were that common. "A disguise then...one that would grant him the ability to remain incognito." It would have to be one that allowed the boy to remain physically active in some way, Ranma never could stay still for any good length of time after all. "...buthowwould he disguise himself? That would affectwherehe's hiding." You couldn't hide effectively as a farmer if you looked like a businessman after all. "And then there's the curse to consider." He frowned, his son was smart enough to know that any disguise he made could easily be undone with a splash of cold water, something Jusenkyō had a tendency to invoke in one way or another, though not as often with hot water. "I suppose cold waterismore common." He mused, eyes narrowing in thought. "I suppose the boy could have gone to China, he and that dragon boy have been sending those letters back and forth." Truthfully that alone had nearly set the man off, a boy shouldn't be sending letters to another boy, that was something those queers did and his son wasnota queer.
He'd made sure of that fact personally.
"...no, not China." He decided after a moment. "That would put him too close to that damn Amazon village." Really, why any man in that village would let those women walk all over them was beyond him. A woman's place was in the kitchen and in her husband's bed, it wasn't like they were good for anything else after all. Really, kids these days and their foolish ideas about men and women being equal, it just wasn't how things worked and it never would be."Still..."He mused, frowning at the maps in front of him."The question is where he could hide to begin with. Crazy things happen around the boy, so there should be some kind of sign...unless..."His eyes narrowed, picking up two newspapers and looking them over with a careful eye."If he went somewhere where such things were common, like Nerima, he'd blend right in. Either that or he could pretend to be a normal bystander just caught in the crazy."Japan was full of places where mysterious things tended to happen, just the sheer number of demon slayers and magical girls proved that."Bah!"He thought, wrinkling his nose in distaste."Any real man, let alone a real martial artist could take them in a fight easily. Though I suppose they are nice to look at."
If he followed the logic that Ranma was hiding somewhere where things happen...
"That would narrow things down considerably...the more things happen the easier it'd be to hide..." If nothing else it'd give him a place to start. "Now...where to look first? Fuyuki or Juban?"
-Michiru's Dream-
"Of course it had to be here." Michiru muttered. It made sense she supposed, for the Neko-ken to be here of all places. For the source of her greatest fear to reside in the source of her greatest failures.
The Tendo Dojo.
It was the place where she first wore girl clothes. The place where she had trained for the rhythmic gymnastics match. The place where she failed to keep Akane from being abducted, and so many others.
Including her decision to run from her problems instead of facing them.
"Where else would it be?" Her shrouded companion replied, glaring at the building with enough heat to set the sky itself ablaze. "Misery loves company, even a mental manifestation of misery."
"...you know it's really weird hearing someone who's a kid using words like that."
"No weirder than meeting a guy cursed to turn into a chimera because he fell into a spring where a yeti riding an ox while holding an eel and a crane drowned."
"...you have a point there." The cursed girl muttered before squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath. She reached for the door and slid it open.
They were there in the dark, tearing into her with claws and fangs as she screamed in agony. Blood poured down her small body from her wounds, she screamed, begging, pleading to be let out of the dark, of the pain, of this tortuous existence she now lived.
She slammed the door shut, falling to her knees and gagging on the bile that rose in her throat from the onslaught of pain and fear that emanated from within the placed she had lived in for two years.
"...We don't have to do this now you know...we can try again later...?" The girl in the mist offered hesitantly, her hand hovering over Michiru's shoulders.
"...I've been asking myself some questions ever since I found myself here in this dream." Michiru started, retching as another wave of bile rose up her throat. "Why am I here? Why does this matter? Why should I bother? Why, why, why?" She lifted her head to look back at the girl and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I don't know how I know, but this is important right?"
"...yes."
"Then I need to do it now." The teal haired girl said firmly, standing up. She swayed a little before catching herself, putting her hand to her head as a wave of dizziness hit her. "Damn, got up too fast." She muttered, shaking her head.
She reached for the door, her hand trembling, before sliding it open and stepping inside in one quick motion.
-?-
This dream again.
She stood on the roof of a building, one of the taller ones in Juban to be sure, but she hadn't been able to find the exact building outside of the dream. The sky was nearly pitch black as a storm raged above, rain poured down in a torrent, lightning flashed across the sky followed quickly by the deafening roar of thunder and all the while she stood there like a wraith. There and not there, the rain passing right through her as she stared at the roofs other occupant.
It was a teenage girl, a high school student going off of the soaked uniform she wore, standing on the edge of the roof staring blankly out at the rest of the city. "All this time...Kasumi...loves...not me..." The girl mumbled to herself.
A noise from behind startled the girl and she whipped around in surprise, one of her shoes catching on the other and sending her tumbling backwards off of the roof, the city streets rushing to meet her. Surprise melted into acceptance as the girl took a deep breath, as if to prepare herself for her impending impact. For her impending death.
Melinoe jolted from her bed with a sharp breath, sweat pouring down her face as her eyes bled back to red from the divine gold they had been mere moments before. "Again?" She panted, reeling from the future she repeatedly visited in her dreams.
It wasn't uncommon for a guardian to receive visions of the future, the guardians of Mars, Terra, and Neptune in particular were known to have prophetic visions that warned of impending disaster. This served to give them and their people warning to lessen the loss of life, if not prevent it entirely. The guardian of Pluto however, received visions of a different sort.
Hers were of fixed points in time.
What she saw would happen, no matter what anyone did to prevent it, time itself would fight to see the events foretold came to pass. Nothing she could do would save the girl on the roof, would stop her from falling. What fate had decreed would come to pass, and all Melinoe could do was remember her when her death was inevitably announced in the paper. She doubted it would be hard to find out about the girl.
After all, girls with teal hair weren't that common.